


Four Times Tsukishima Noticed Kageyama Alone During Lunch

by iamthefacebehindthemask



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Aged-Up Character(s), But not exactly, Can Be Read As Romantic, Canon Compliant, Canon Timeline, Developing Relationship, Friendship, Friendship/Love, How Do I Tag, M/M, OT5 Friendship, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 20:52:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9459983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamthefacebehindthemask/pseuds/iamthefacebehindthemask
Summary: ...And the one time he did something about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think of this as a fic about offscreen friendship development. We already see how it develops onscreen, so this sort of complements that.

1.

The first time he noticed was during the first few days after joining the volleyball club.

“Tsukki, let’s eat together!”

“You’re too noisy, Yamaguchi.”

“Haha, sorry, Tsukki! Where do you want to eat?”

“Rooftop.”

“Okay!”

On their way to the stairs leading to the rooftop, Kei and Tadashi passed Tobio’s classroom. From the corner of his eye, Kei observed that everyone was eating with someone, except for Tobio.

 _Not that that’s any of my business_ , he thought and dismissed the scene.

2.

The second time he noticed, Kei was about to get drinks for himself and Tadashi from the vending machine around the corner from the gym. Tobio was sitting on the floor beside the machine, contentedly sipping on a box of milk, empty lunch box lying next to him. His eyes were focused on the two figures practicing receives outside the gym, an unreadable expression on his face.

“No, Shouyou, you’ve got to keep your arms like this, and your legs like… this!”

“Whoa! Like this?”

“Yeah!”

“Thanks, Noya-san! You’re the best!” 

“No problems! I am your senpai, after all, my kouhai! I can help you with anything…”

“Come back to the club then!”

“Shouyou, I told you, that’s- “

Judging that conversation to be pointless from that point onwards, Kei tuned the rest of it out and kept walking in the direction of his classroom, emptyhanded.

3.

The third time he noticed was a few days after they had lost against Seijoh in the fall inter-high championship. 

Kei saw Tobio standing at the entrance of the gym, lunch box in hand. He looked as though he was making a really tough decision. Then he sighed, and pushed the gym door open, disappearing as it shut behind him.

“Yamaguchi, you go ahead. I’ll be there soon.” 

“Tsukki? Where are- _oh_. Okay, I’ll be at our spot. Don’t be late!”

Kei walked resolutely in the direction of the gym, determined to get Tobio to eat somehow (he wasn’t sure why he felt the need to say anything at all, though) when he heard an aggravated yell. Then another voice joined the first one.

Without making his presence known, Kei peeked inside. Orange hair whizzed past the window through which he was looking inside, as Shouyou and Tobio gave vent to the frustration arising from their defeat. 

He walked away. Secretly, he was relieved.

_What would I have even said?_

 4. 

The fourth time he noticed was a few days before the first summer training camp in Tokyo. Tobio was sitting on a staircase leading up to the rooftop Kei frequented. The middle blocker could tell he was stuck on something difficult, judging from the English textbook resting in his lap and the sound of him gritting his teeth in annoyance, lunchbox untouched on the stair next to him.

Kei made no move to sit or help, but with one glance out of the corner of his eye, he knew exactly what the setter was stuck on. He kept climbing the stairs.

Then, standing on the topmost step, he looked down at Tobio and said, “The answer to that question is C, Your Majesty. And don’t block the stairs like this; if you want to study and eat at the same time, you should do it at your desk.”

Tobio craned his neck to look at him, and nodded, surprise clearly evident in his expression.

“Thanks, I guess”, he replied, and Kei almost _wished_ that there had been more bite in Tobio's tone.

5.

Many months passed. Both Kei and Tobio had gotten closer to the team, which itself had become much more cohesive after securing a position in the National Championship. The individual entities that had originally seemed like they hard been forced into a group were starting to look as if they could all fit together like pieces of a perfect puzzle.

And in improving themselves, they had also gotten closer to people outside of the team. Sometimes Kuroo would send a random tip on blocking to Kei (he had gotten hold of the middle blocker’s contact number through Kenma, who had asked Shouyou for it). And Tobio heard from the friends he had met at the National Intensive Youth Camp quite often too (more than he would like if Tobio was completely honest).

And then Nationals came to an end, the third years had graduated, and Ennoshita had become captain.

And, in a way, some things didn’t alter. Kei and Tadashi still had lunch on the rooftop like before. Shouyou and Tobio bickered every fifteen minutes (sometimes even more frequently than that, Yachi had noted, albeit unhelpfully). Tanaka and Nishinoya still relished every moment of being called ‘senpai’ by the new first years.

Kei liked that even with everything going on around him, he hadn’t lost the stability he had persevered to preserve.

As he walked in the direction of the staircase, lunch box in hand, and caught a glimpse of a familiar (almost nostalgic) sight, Kei realized something important and paused in his footsteps.

He had tried so hard, focusing on maintaining control of the constancy in his life that he had forgotten that it was possible to control the timing and means of change, too. And that this whole time, an opportunity for change was lurking right in front of his eyes, waiting patiently for him to take a leap and wait for the consequent transformation.

Stuff like taking a leap sounded a bit like guess-blocking though, considering how high the stakes were in both cases if he was absolutely honest.

So the fifth time he noticed, he leaned against the doorframe of the entrance to Tobio’s classroom, and drawled, “Oi, King, the second years are apparently supposed to eat together, Ennoshita-san’s orders, remember? Don’t be late now; the world won’t wait for you even if you’re royalty.” 

A sound of a chair scraping across the floor due to being pushed back too quickly was the response he received, along with an indignant mutter of, “O- of course, I remember, dumbass. What do you think I am?”

“Stupid, obviously. I can tell that you forgot what he said yesterday. It’s like everything goes in through one ear and comes out of the other, for you and Hinata.”

“Shut up!”

Kei snickered.

He had made it to the other side. And that first step had been worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! All kudos and comments are greatly appreciated ^_^


End file.
